One of the common reasons law enforcement gives when they pull a person over in an OWI case is that the person was “weaving within their lane” and “they changed lanes without signaling” Usually this is sufficient to give law enforcement probable cause to stop a car and it goes downhill from there. STATE OF [...]
A Story County, Iowa Law Firm specializing in family law and criminal defense
Category Archives: Criminal Defense
You get one telephone call – update
Under Iowa law,804.20, if you are arrested for OWI, you have the absolute right to make telephone calls to your family and to try to find an attorney. Law enforcement does not have to tell you have the right to make a telephone call, however, law enforcement has to tell you who you can call [...]
LAW ENFORCEMENT CANNOT USE A PROMISE OF LENIENT TREATMENT WHEN TRYING TO GET YOU TO TALK
It is standard law enforcement procedure to tell a suspect being questioning that it is better to tell the truth (confess). However, if law enforcement says that by confessing the suspect will get a reduced charge or lesser punishment, then they step over the line and any “confession” made after that is inadmissible. [...]
Being a guest in a home does not mean you had possession of the drugs that were in the home
Whether a person has possession of a controlled substance is controlled by the facts of each case. Here a person was convicted of possession of a controlled substance because he was in the home and near where the drugs were found. The conviction was overturned and the case ordered dismissed in: STATE OF IOWA, vs. [...]
Everything you say can and will be used against you
Several recent court cases have once again confirmed that anything you say can and will be used against you even if you have not been given your Miranda warnings.
In State v. O’Dell, the defendant was stopped for routine traffic violations. Because of the very cold weather, the officer asked the defendant to sit in the [...]
Computer files are not in plain view
Plain view is one of the exemptions to the rule that law enforcement needs a search warrant to use evidence against a suspect. For example, if a car is stopped for speeding and the officer sees marijuana sitting out in the open, in “plain view”, the officer can seize the marijuana and use it [...]
Don’t trust a lie detector
As an article on the American Psychological Association website notes, psychologists pretty much agree there’s not much data to support the effectiveness of lie-detector tests to sort out truth from lies.
The accuracy (i.e., validity) of polygraph testing has long been controversial. An underlying problem is theoretical: There is no evidence that any pattern of physiological [...]
You get one telephone call
Iowa Code Section 804.20 – Right to Consult an Attorney or Family Member
Once you have been arrested or restrained by law enforcement, and brought to the police station or jail, you have the right to call either a family member or an attorney. You must ask to make the call; law enforcement does not have [...]
What to Do if Stopped or Questioned by Law Enforcement.
1. Think carefully about your words, movement, body language, and emotions. Keep your hands where Law Enforcement can see them. Do not keep moving or run away if ordered to stop, even if you believe what is happening is unreasonable. You will be arrested if you do. Do not interfere with or obstruct Law Enforcement. [...]